Sailor Moon Versus Dungeon Keeper
by A-kun
Summary: It started with an imp trying to claim her house. Now, it's an all out war between the Senshi and the Dungeon Keeper. Who will win? - STALLED, SEE PROFILE ABOVE FOR DETAILS
1. Sailor Moon Versus Dungeon Keeper 1

===================================  
Sailor Moon Versus Dungeon Keeper  
Chapter 1 - The New Keeper In Tokyo  
===================================  
  
Luna sighed. At last, some peace and quiet following that   
Witches 5 and Master Pharoah 90 business. They'd managed to go monster   
free for a whole month now, and though the Senshi still trained with   
their powers, at the request of Usagi herself no less, they were no   
longer forced push themselves extra hard, like they did during the   
Witches 5's time.  
Indeed, the night was lovely. The moon hung in the sky with but   
a few clouds surrounding it, and Usagi's bed was nice and warm. Luna   
had her own bed, but she preferred sleeping in a warmer spot if   
possible.  
Luna was half asleep when she thought she saw something move in   
the street. She perked up instantly and gazed out the window to see if   
she could see what it was.  
There was nothing.  
Luna frowned. Her eyesight wasn't that bad. Then again,   
whatever it was probably passed. Perhaps a late night jogger. People   
in Tokyo tended to pick up unusual habits.  
Then she caught sight of it again, or rather, it's shadow, thanks   
to the street light. The figure was small, but had a large sack and   
what looked like a pickax.  
A thief? She watched it's shadow. If it was a thief, said thief   
seemed to be doing some sort of victory dance that ended with stomping   
on the ground inbetween jigs. Then it would walk forward and begin   
dancing again.  
Luna stared in confusion. A thief that danced around happily,   
then stomped on the ground? Then it walked directly in front of the   
Tsukino family gate and Luna got a good look at it. Her eyes widened   
as memories came back to her.  
"Usagi! Usagi, wake up!" Luna hissed urgently into Usagi's ear.  
"What is it, Luna?" was what Usagi tried to say, but it came out,   
"Farm boogle, bologna?"  
"Usagi! There's an imp outside!" Luna hissed.  
"A what?" Usagi asked as she sat up and stared blearily at Luna.  
"An imp! It's a magical creature made to perform tasks for evil   
sorcerers," Luna explained, before motioning out the window, where said   
imp was now dancing on the walkway leading to Usagi's house, "and it's   
making an artificial leyline right now!"  
"What's a leyline?" Usagi asked.  
Luna tried not to scream. She had to remind herself that Usagi   
didn't know a lot of the terms for magic.  
"Imagine the world covered in a spider's web. Each of the   
threads represents magical energy. Near a leyline, magic is easier to   
use. The further one is from a leyline, the harder magic is to use.   
You and the other senshi don't really need to worry about that much   
because you've got taps to your own leylines. With an artificial one,   
an evil sorcerer could cast his spells much easier, even if there   
wasn't a leyline within miles." Luna explained.  
"Evil sorcerers?" Usagi inquired, dreading the fact that she   
would have to be fighting another dastardly opponent so soon.  
"Yes, evil sorcerers." Luna answered.  
"Well," Usagi began, grumbling a bit, "I guess I should transform   
and fight it."  
Usagi climbed out of bed and grabbed her transformation brooch.  
"Moon Crystal Power!" Usagi hissed out.  
The flare of pink energy was toned down greatly as Usagi didn't   
want to wake her parents or her brother. The last she wanted to deal   
with was her family stumbling on her secret at this time of night.  
Once the transformation was complete, Usagi opened the window and   
leapt out to land at the front of her driveway, but the imp had moved   
to her house doorstep. Luna still thought that it looked like it was   
dancing a jig.  
"Hold it right there, buddy!" Sailor Moon declared.  
The imp turned around so Usagi could get a good look at it. It   
was fairly short, only about two to three feet tall, with a small green   
body and a freakishly large head that possess two completely black eyes   
that took up roughly two-thirds of it's face. In one hand was a pickax   
and strapped to it's back was a large deflated sack. The only clothes   
that it wore was a loin cloth, a cross-shaped belt held the sack to   
it's back and a pair of cloth boots.  
It seemed to stare blankly at Sailor Moon, before turning around   
again and resuming it's dance.  
"I SAID, HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" Sailor Moon growled louder.  
The imp again turned to face her, then cocked it's head in   
confusion, before turning back to the house and resuming it's dance.   
There was one thing that Usagi Tsukino couldn't stand. It was a   
monster who refused to see her as a threat.  
Sailor Moon marched forward and bonked the creature on the head,   
"Knock it off already! What are you doing here?!"  
The imp squealed in surprise at the attack, then ran around Usagi   
before she could even blink and was halfway to her gate before she   
could turn around. Suddenly, as the imp passed, a larger green   
creature fell from... air, three feet up, to land on it's back.  
As it stood up, Usagi noted a slight resembalance between it and   
the imp. The new creature was about as tall as her, with normal-sized   
but bulged eyes, and a wiry frame. It wore a damaged helmet and   
leather armor, with a cheap-looking sword in one hand.  
Luna arched an eyebrow, "That's a goblin..."  
The goblin let out an angry, yet slightly whiny, battle cry   
before charging Usagi. Usagi, however, was much faster than it, and   
counter-attacked with a dashing punch, catching the goblin flatfoot.   
It tumbled backwards and hit the ground hard. It groaned and forced   
itself upright before charging Sailor Moon again.  
Usagi leapt at it, and jump-kicked the foolish goblin, sending it   
flying backwards to hit the wall on the otherside of the street. It's   
helmet fell from it's head and clattered to the ground as the goblin   
fell limp. Usagi approached it to see if it was still alive.  
Suddenly, three imps appeared. One grabbed the goblin's helmet   
while the other two grabbed the goblin itself. Then, the imps took off   
down the road, moving much faster than Usagi would've thought possible.   
Not willing to let them go without a decent explanation as to where   
they came from, Usagi and Luna raced after them.   
Three blocks later, the imps glanced back to see Usagi and Luna   
still following them. The one holding the helmet let out a chitter to   
the sky above. Usagi was shocked at what happened next, both   
figuratively and literally, as a lightning bolt blasted her to the   
ground.  
Usagi didn't know how much time had passed when she finally woke   
up, but Ami and Makoto were already there, both transformed.  
"What happened?" Usagi asked.  
"You got zapped out of the blue." Luna explained.  
"Where are the imps?" Usagi inquired.  
"Gone. I was more worried about you." Luna answered.  
"Mercury, can you track them?" Usagi asked.  
"No, not unless I got the chance to scan one." Ami told her.  
"I guess it's a new Senshi meeting tomorrow." Usagi sighed.  
Ami and Makoto nodded.  
  
He sighed. This was supposed to be easy. Claim all of Tokyo for   
the launch site of his plan, but while he had gotten most of the city   
into his power, the imps working in the suburbs had attracted Sailor   
Moon.  
Sailor Moon. He'd heard all of the legends about her, but it was   
only by scrying on some of the most powerful magical events in the city   
that he found out about her full power.  
He knew exactly what she could do if she were pressed. And he   
had no desire to see it upclose.  
While Tokyo wasn't the best place for mana, it was an easy place   
to attract minions. For some reason, the place just harbored the   
energies necessary to pull creatures into his service.  
One thing was sure, the goblin he'd just had was done for. Even   
hurrying as fast as they could, the imps couldn't bring the body back   
to the goblin's lair fast enough, thus the healing magic in the lair   
was unable to bring the poor creature back to life.  
So, it was off to the graveyard for the goblin's lifeless body.   
He needed better servants and more than one capable of fighting, if he   
was to take on Sailor Moon, even in a delaying action.  
"What seems to be the problem?" came a sultry request from behind   
him.  
He glanced back at the woman who had been his master in the art   
of magic, and the one who had shown him where to find the last of the   
Dungeon Hearts, the magical device that he was utilizing to create the   
artificial leyline. All it really did was bring the loose threads of   
leylines into a more orderly position, but it allowed him to multiply   
his power immensely.  
Of course, he had been forced to save her a few years ago, so it   
was for mutual benefit. But, he kept getting the distinct impression   
that he was helping her more than she was helping him.  
"My imps and my only goblin had a little run in with Sailor Moon.   
My goblin didn't last." he explained.  
"Then you'll have to attract in more powerful warriors or create   
them. Use the prison, like I taught you." she answered.  
"I've thought about that. It seems like a waste to kill off   
people just to make a few one-shot monsters." he responded.  
"You wouldn't worry about killing off those humans on lower end   
of the moral scale, would you?" she suggested politely.  
He really wanted to glare at her for that, but he had to admit,   
he didn't care about the people who went around molesting or raping   
women.  
"But how will I get skeletons if I don't have any warriors?" he   
demanded.  
"Just use your imps to distract them. Imps _can_ fight, just not   
very well." she responded.  
"......" he answered.  
  
=======================================================================  
  
Who is the keeper?  
Who is the keeper's ally?  
Will the new keeper scrounge the bottom of humanity's moral   
structure for a new army?  
Can Sailor Moon and company track him down before he becomes more   
dangerous?  
Find out the answers and/or clues in the next episode. 


	2. Sailor Moon Versus Dungeon Keeper 2

There exists good and evil in all human beings. However, it is   
rarely in the equal quantities. Everyone is always a little bit more   
good or evil. So, it may be true that someone has a good side, one   
must always keep in mind that it may be buried under a mountain of   
evil.  
A cannibal may always tip generously at resturaunts and have   
excellent manners.  
A murderer may always give to charities or help out at the   
homeless shelter.  
A thief may save others from peril or always recycle.  
Yes, in a way, there are good points to every evil person.  
However, should the little good really excuse the greater evil?  
I think not.  
  
- ponderings of an anonymous 20th century philosopher  
  
===================================================  
Sailor Moon Versus Dungeon Keeper  
Chapter 2 - Mistresses, Youma and Skeletons, OH MY!  
===================================================  
  
"Just drop the purse, lady, and nobody gets hurt." the street   
thug sneered, raising his knife threateningly.  
The office lady was terrified. She had very little money, but   
she couldn't afford to lose it. It was just enough to pay the bills as   
it was.  
"COME ON! DROP IT!" the thug snarled angrily, losing his   
patience.  
Suddenly, the street thug stopped. The office lady blinked in   
surprise as his gaze lowered to his left leg, where both of them saw a   
pickax sticking out of the thug's left shin.  
The street thug howled in pain before a freak lightning bolt   
struck him, sending him to the ground, completely stunned. The office   
lady decided that fate was on her side for a change.  
She turned and ran for the protection of her home, completely   
missing the sight of two little green men hauling the street thug away.  
  
Ami reading was nothing new. Ami reading the newspaper was a bit   
out of the ordinary. As Usagi and Makoto approached, Ami turned her   
attention up towards them.  
"You guys, check this out!" Ami said, thrusting the paper out to   
them.  
Makoto read the headline, "Four hundred missing, little green men   
sighted, are aliens responsible?"  
"Numerous people all over Tokyo were kidnapped last night and   
'little green men wielding pickaxes' were sighted at most of the   
reported cases." Ami explained.  
"The imps." Usagi realized, frowning.  
"Right. Whatever they've done, it's obviously for no good   
reason." Makoto spoke up.  
"They might be trying to get an army of brainwashed fighters. A   
lot of the reported 'little green men' were said to be kidnapping   
street thugs who had been hit by 'freak lightning'. The other people   
kidnapped were done in the same fashion." Ami told them.  
"Four hundred people, though? It was difficult even for the   
Black Moon family to control thirty or forty people." Makoto replied.  
"We shouldn't underestimate this new threat, Makoto. Luna and   
Artemis went to consult with Setsuna about this. And you know when   
they're willing to stop pussy-footing around and seek some real   
answers, they're serious." Usagi stated.  
  
He was watching the prisons with minimal attention. The only   
thing he wanted to make sure of was that no one tried to escape. He   
didn't like watching the people inside starve and die, only to have   
their bodies rise again as skeletons.  
Watching people die at an expediated rate was not entertainment   
to him. Far from it. The only thing that kept him from throwing the   
people out of his prison and onto a city street was the fact that he   
knew their spirits and souls were freed in the process.  
In a way, it was a good thing for most of them. After all, they   
would only be punished for what they had already done.  
But, he had watched them before choosing to capture them.   
Thieves, thugs, rapists, murderers, and worse. The four hundred people   
dying in his prison would have been sentenced to anywhere from twenty   
years to life in prison.  
He was giving the system a nice cleansing. No need for the   
police to chase down these criminals, no need for the courts to put   
them on trial on the taxpayer's dollar, no need for them to sit in a   
cell and get fed meals for the rest of their lives on the taxpayer's   
dollar.  
In essense, he was saving the city of Tokyo hundreds upon   
thousands of dollars by killing them off.  
He was still a bit queasy at the sight of his new skeletal army.  
The magic of his many prisons removed all flesh, organs and   
extraneous muscle. The only things the skeletons had were their bones,   
their ligaments, a sword and a shield, all of which were magically   
charged. The skeletons could operate indefinitely, requiring neither   
food nor rest.  
The weird thing was that they could still create noise, a   
function that allow them to let loose terrifying battlecrys that   
unnerved him as they trained in his magical training rooms.  
"How is the army doing?" his partner inquired.  
"Not bad. I'd estimate that they have about six weeks before   
they're no longer capable of advancing in skill. At least not without   
some serious magical boosts." he answered.  
"Ian," she began, "You're not sounding too confident."  
"The skeleton army has nothing to fear from cops or very much to   
fear from another army armed with anything less than bazookas and   
tanks, but they will not stand against the Sailor Senshi. And THEY are   
our real foe. _I_ can take care of all the heavy artillery no problem,   
but I cannot handle the Senshi." Ian explained.  
"Then you should send some imps to the north pole. There is a   
dimensional gate to a crumbling realm. From it, you can gather   
creatures known as youma. They will be weak, but given time in a   
magically strong area, they'll be a powerful force to be reckoned   
with." she told him.  
Ian contemplated that location, his brown eyes focusing on his   
dungeon heart as he thought.  
"You mean, near that crater where I found you?" he asked.  
"Yes." she answered stiffly, shuddering at the memories.  
"Very well. I'll create some teleport pads. They'll have to   
show up in my other dungeons, though." He warned her.  
"I would tell them of your offer to be their keeper, lest they   
get the impression you're doing this for free..." she replied.  
Ian nodded.  
  
It was rare that all the Sailor Senshi met. However, given   
Setsuna was the one forming the meeting, Haruka and Michiru were   
willing to submit to being with the Inners, while Makoto and Minako   
were willing to submit to being with Haruka and Michiru. The four   
still remembered what had happened the last time they'd met, back at   
the crater site of Mugen Gaken.  
The group was in the Tomoe mansion, sitting around a large dinner   
table, as it was the only table large enough to host all of the Senshi.  
"As you all know, this is a meeting of utmost importance. The   
reason being that Usagi and Luna have met up with our next opponent."   
Setsuna explained.  
"What do you mean, 'next opponent'? How many more do we have?"   
Rei asked.  
"I can't tell you the exact number, but it's more than three."   
Setsuna answered, glancing at Rei before continuing, "This particular   
enemy is called the Keeper. He's using an ancient artifact from the   
Silver Millenium to expand his power base exponentially. I figure   
that, given a month or so, he should be able to give all of us combined   
a run for our money."   
"What in the world could give him that much power?" Ami inquired.  
"Hmmm, how to best say this... Back in the early days of what   
later became the Silver Millenium, there were magical devices called   
Hearts, which were used by trusted commanders. The commanders who were   
in charge of the Hearts were known as Keepers. The Hearts allowed the   
Keepers to view their troops movements, health and effeciency. It also   
allowed the commander to pull soldiers back when they became too   
injured, exhuasted or sloppy to be effective." Setsuna began.  
"The Hearts could also create beds, food supplies, training   
rooms, prisons, whatever the Keeper could imagine, provided that they   
knew how to build them." Luna continued, "They also allowed for the   
Keeper to heal their forces, cast spells, among other things. In   
essense, the Hearts and their Keepers were war machines, capable of   
taking on forces triple their size without losing. They were   
considered the best weapon against the monsters that plagued this solar   
system."  
"Unfortunately, some of the Keepers began using their power to   
gather and convert the enemy forces they were sent to destroy. They   
moved their Hearts underground and guarded them with dungeons. The   
evil Keepers were later referred to as Dungeon Keepers... for obvious   
reasons. In time, they gathered a mighty army and attacked the Silver   
Millenium." Artemis spoke up, "It was a war of Keeper versus Keeper and   
it waged for months, before finally, the last Dungeon Keeper was   
banished for all time."  
"However, the Queen at the time, Tranquility, decided that the   
Hearts were too dangerous to let stay. She had the Great Shield   
erected, and had the last of the Hearts destroyed. With the Great   
Shield in place, there was less of a reason to fear creatures entering.   
Only small creatures, that the Outer Senshi could handle, could get   
past the Great Shield." Luna joined in.  
"Unfortunately, there was apparently one Heart left. And the one   
using it is the one we're facing." Setsuna finished.  
"What about the Great Shield? Is it still in place?" Ami   
inquired.  
Setsuna shook her head, "The Great Shield fell at the same time   
the Moon Kingdom collapsed."  
"Wait, if this Keeper guy can heal everyone he commands, does   
that mean his forces are kinda invincible?" Minako asked.  
Luna answered that, "No. There are flaws in the Heart. Once a   
creature has been rendered unconscious or dead, he cannot heal them.   
His imps can drag the unconscious back to their beds, where they will   
revive and heal, but ONLY if the imps can bring them back."  
"So, we just gotta beat up the imps before they can do that.   
Right." Haruka noted.  
"Also, he can't cast most of his offensive spells in areas he   
hasn't claimed. Unfortunately, he's already claimed most of Tokyo."   
Luna continued.  
"How'd he do that?" Makoto asked.  
"We have no idea how long he's been operating. He might have   
done it during Halloween or maybe people just thought of them as kids   
in constumes." Ami explained.  
"Well, if his 'goblin' was any indication of the rest of his   
army, it'll be no problem beating him." Usagi said, smirking   
confidently.  
"Given the recent massive kidnappings, I can only assume he's   
building an army of the undead." Setsuna spoke up.  
"Undead?" came the nervous inquiry from the Inner Senshi.  
"He can create either prisons or graveyards. The prisons will   
accelerate their hunger, causing them to die of starvation and become   
skeletons. But if he kills people and dumps their bodies in the   
graveyard, we'll be facing some vampires, too." Setsuna explained.  
"Vampires?" Minako squeaked, her face turning blue with fright.  
"Yes, and unfortunately, only Sailor Moon or Sailor Mars have the   
power to defeat them." Setsuna replied.  
"What are you talking about? Aren't vampires afraid of garlic   
and stakes and stuff?" Haruka inquired.  
"Those would be the vampires of lore. THESE vampires are more   
magical than that. Yes, you can beat them, but unless you use holy or   
purifying magic, like the kind that Usagi can utilize with the   
Guizuishou or Rei can use as a Shinto Priestess, they'll simply   
resurrect themselves and come back." Setsuna answered.  
Artemis cleared his throat, "Excuse me, but there is still one   
thing that they could use. Vampires can't cross water without a   
bridge."  
Setsuna considered that, "You're right, they can't. But if the   
vampire is strong enough, they can still resurrect themselves."  
Artemis sighed, "Oh, right."  
"How do we go about finding this Keeper before he gets his act   
together?" Michiru asked.  
"I know that he'll be underground. The only entrances to his   
domain, however, will have to be found by finding and following his   
imps." Setsuna answered.  
"So, we should split up and search the city in teams of two.   
Artemis and I will be one team." Luna declared.  
Usagi spoke up, "Haruka and Michiru are obviously a team, Mako-  
chan and I'll be another, Minako and Ami, and Rei can go with Setsuna."  
When no objections came from the group, the group stood up and   
transformed into their Senshi forms.  
"Remember, this Keeper is NOT to be underestimated. Just because   
Usagi took down a goblin with a few hits doesn't mean the rest of his   
forces are going to just as weak. Call in for backup the INSTANT you   
find trouble." Sailor Pluto warned.  
  
Kale was the strongest remaining youma, and even he was feeling   
as feeble as an old man with arthritis. The Dark Kingdom's magic was   
fading without Metallia or the Dark Kingdom Generals supplying fresh   
energy. And for a youma, it was like a fish finding out that it's pond   
was drying up.  
Then, something magical appeared. Desperate eyes locked onto   
this fresh source of magic, hoping that this magic thing was a new   
lease on life, even if it also meant a new leash.  
"So, this is what remains of the Dark Kingdom, eh?" Ian murmurred   
aloud. He'd seen it at it's height. Back then, it looked like a city.   
Granted, it looked like a wax city that was half-melted, but it still   
looked like a city.  
What remained was more like a dying city or a ruin. No building   
was standing, at least not in one piece, and there were weak and sick   
youma everywhere.  
The youma varied largely, in size and shape, but retained a   
largely humanoid appearance. The nearest and healthiest looking one   
was a male-looking youma with a golden sword. It stood six feet tall,   
with a wolf-like head, and wore once-gleaming silver armor.  
The armor-clad youma approached the stranger, "I am Kale, the   
guardian of this city. What do you want?"  
"I will tell you and everyone here my purpose." Ian answered,   
before addressing everyone, "Survivors of the Dark Kingdom, hear me! I   
am Ian the Keeper. I am here to offer you a new home. You may rest   
and eat freely in my domain, but it will not be without a cost. You   
must swear allegiance to me and work for me. It may not seem like a   
good exchange, but my dungeon is rich with magic and is more than   
enough to keep all of you alive."  
Ian flew up ten feet as four crystal pillars rose around where he   
was once standing, "This is a portal that I've constructed that will   
provide you with access to my domain. If you wish to join me, then you   
know my terms. And as a gesture of good will, I will heal all of you."  
Ian raised a hand and magical energy flowed into each of the   
youma survivors, replenishing their strength enough for each of them to   
stand and walk towards the portal. Ian scratched his chin   
thoughtfully. Apparently, his offer was more than good enough to   
entice all of the remaining youma to join him.  
Now he had to gather some more mages to his side. With tireless   
skeletons, magical youma and powerful wizards, there would not be much   
standing in his way. Even the Sailor Senshi would fall before that   
kind of might.  
No, there were still plenty of magical beings that he could   
entice to his side to ensure a more complete victory. The goblins he'd   
discovered were useless and doomed to die anyway. And from the crappy   
performance from the best warrior they had, he wasn't going to waste   
his time saving them.  
There was a lot of fallout minions from the crazy plots of those   
who had come before him. He just needed to pick them up.  
  
Haruka was bored. Bored, bored, bored. She had never been so   
damn bored in her life. Searches tended to be one of the less   
glamorous things that many people didn't talk about because they were   
so damn BORING.  
At least when they were looking for something like a Daimon, it   
was big and noticeable. Imps tended to be about half as tall and not   
very visible at all.  
She sighed. The city looked even more boring to look at when she   
was looking for tiny green men. At least the daimons were female, and   
thus, at least worthwhile to look at, in Haruka's opinion. The idea of   
looking for tiny green men sounded like a goose chase to Haruka.   
Especially in a city with roughly 8.5 million people in it.  
Michiru was also bored, but just as she was about to suggest to   
Haruka that they try looking elsewhere, she spotted an imp entering a   
nearby warehouse.  
"Uranus, I've spotted one." Neptune spoke up.  
Haruka hurried to Michiru's spot and looked in the same   
direction, "Where?"  
"It went into that warehouse." Michiru answered, pointing to the   
aforementioned building.  
"Right, let's check it out." Haruka said.  
"What about calling in?" Michiru asked.  
"We're not launching an attack, we're just investigating." Haruka   
reasoned.  
Michiru frowned. Whenever Setsuna gave a command, it was meant   
to be followed to the letter. Then again, they hadn't found trouble   
yet. An imp couldn't possibly be trouble, especially if three ran away   
from Usagi.  
The two Outer Senshi leapt over to the building and looked in   
through a skylight. The warehouse was darkened and the only light was   
coming from the very skylight they were looking in through.  
"Enjoying the view?" came an inquiry.  
The two Outer Senshi spun to see an armored werewolf tackle them,   
sending them all crashing through the skylight to land in the middle of   
the warehouse. Haruka shook her head as she sat up, and then silently   
gulped.  
Over fifty skeletons turned to her and Neptune, raised their   
swords and let out a horrific battlecry.  
  
Ian was looking over a tome of various events that he'd watched.   
He was troubled by how many events had been totally forgotten or   
glossed over by the world in general. Had it not been for the fact   
that the Guinzuishou was about as subtle and as refined as a brick, the   
events that lead up to his state of power would have been undone   
completely when Sailor Moon saved her friends from death and removed   
the memories of the Senshi from everyone in Tokyo.  
Sailor Moon had only paid attention to what had happened to her   
part of the world, never knowing that her first opponent, Queen Beryl,   
had started a little 'outreach program' shortly before the death of her   
General Nephrite.  
After all, it took a lot of power in order to break the seal that   
Queen Serenity had placed on the Dark Kingdom, more to send youma   
through, and still more to maintain those youma's powers without a   
steady feed of magic. The Generals had an advantage in going through   
because they were both naturally from Earth and actually generated   
magic rather than drained it.  
The outreach program had gotten a small group of people with   
magical talent, like Ian, and had begun teaching them more and more   
about magic, so that the Dark Kingdom could save a lot of the energy   
they spent breaking the seal and maintaining their youma.  
Ian had already contacted a lot of his fellow mages. Most were   
willing to do contract work or part-time, but they had lives and   
appearances to uphold, not to mention their own schemes, so they   
wouldn't available at all times. Yet, those that remained were more   
than willing to help, provided that they got some free land, money and   
servants once Ian won.  
Still, even with all that he had, Ian felt he needed more forces   
to make himself one to be reckoned with.  
Then, he found a few entries that intrigued him, [Hmmm, a   
chemical compound that created eggs that could possess items and turn   
them into monsters... not to mention a special oven that could create   
more powerful monsters using a slightly refined formula. And crystal   
golems using a gem to simulate intellect... They might not have worked   
well for the Witches 5 or the Black Moon Family, but I'm not as stupid   
as them. What's the point of sending only one or two minions at a time   
when you can overwhelm them with sheer numbers?]  
Ian felt a tug of mana. His skeletons were in a fight, being   
lead by Kale. Ian walked over to his Dungeon Heart and looked at his   
magical map. The fight appeared before him.  
His trap had caught two of the Senshi. The fight had cost him   
fifteen skeletons, but the two unconscious senshi were now being   
dragged back to his prison.  
He considered his options. They were too powerful for his prison   
to seal off their powers and strength at the same time. But, that   
underused torture chamber he'd made a while back had twice the   
restraining and sealing magic. He could just bolster it's power with a   
thread of mana to make absolutely sure they didn't escape.  
But if he was going to use the torture chamber, he might as well   
try and convert them to his side. But he would need something capable   
of manipulating their thoughts. Something powerful.  
His eyes flickered back to his tome. Some of the daimons were   
incredibly powerful. Surely, if he directed that power, he could make   
a few dominatrix types to fill the job. One man's trash is another   
man's treasure.  
"Master Ian, we found this with them." Kale spoke, feeling Ian's   
eyes watching the scene.  
Ian noticed the little pink device, "That looks like a   
communicator of some sort."  
"One of the stars is blinking. I believe it may alert the others   
of our presense." Kale answered.  
"Right. I'll pull you all out. Oh, and good work, Kale. Have a   
few nights off." Ian told the wolf-youma.  
"Thank you, Master Ian." Kale responded.  
With that, Ian's will pulled him and the remaining skeletons back   
to the safety of one of Ian's many dungeons. Ian turned and walked to   
a phone. Time to call in some of his friends to do some alchemy...  
  
"If it weren't for the fact that I figured they'd get into   
trouble, I'd be surprised." Makoto muttered darkly as she inspected the   
warehouse.  
"That's not very nice, Jupiter." Ami told Makoto.  
"Then again, they did break Pluto's orders." Minako commented.  
"Yes, but we should be more concerned about finding them rather   
than assigning blame. We don't know that they weren't surprised while   
investigating a possible sighting." Usagi said, agreeing with Ami.  
"Both of you are right." Setsuna interupted, "They didn't call in   
beforehand, but they were ambushed."  
"And how come you can't tell us more than what we can already   
speculate until AFTER something's happened?" Makoto inquired.  
"Lay off, Jupiter. She's the Guardian of Time, not Miss Cleo the   
Psychic, okay? Even if she did know something, she couldn't tell us   
more because either it would cause too much of a change in the time   
stream." Rei replied.  
"How do you know that?" Makoto demanded.  
"She asked politely." Setsuna explained.  
Makoto sighed. She was getting a headache, "So, can we track   
them down or what?"  
"There's too much residual energy in the area. Not to mention   
the Keeper has been busy for quite some time laying down leylines." Ami   
commented.  
"How busy?" Minako asked.  
Ami turned her computer around to show them a map of Japan, "This   
is Japan." Ami pressed a button, "This is where his leylines reach."   
Red lines covered Japan like a net or a really messy spiderweb.  
"The way I see it, his imps are now claiming roughly three acres   
of land every day, and that number is growing as his power extends   
further. At this rate, he'll begin moving into China, Australia and   
America in one month. Setsuna was right, he'll be on par with all of   
us combined in that time. And that's assuming he's not gaining more   
power from tapping larger leylines or mana vaults."  
"Mana vaults?" Usagi asked.  
"They're places where leylines intersect. They're much more   
powerful than the normal strands he's collecting right now." Ami   
answered.  
"Then we need to figure out the pattern on these imps and catch   
one so you can analyze it and fast, or else there won't be a Crystal   
Tokyo." Minako stated.  
  
=======================================================================  
  
The mysterious ally to Keeper Ian remains... somewhat mysterious,   
but what clues will be given about her identity next time?  
With the armies of Youma from the Dark Kingdom now in his   
service, what will Ian seek out next time?  
And what of the fates of Sailor Neptune and Uranus?  
Find out the answers and/or clues in the next episode.  
  
Before anyone asks, I'll answer the obvious questions.  
  
Q1. Why is Setsuna living at the Tomoe Mansion?  
A1. She's Souichiro and Hotaru Tomoe's legal guardian until   
Souichiro is able to get a new job. She's also keeping a close eye on   
Hotaru.  
  
Q2. Why isn't Hotaru or Chibi-Usa there at the meeting?  
A2. This story takes place after Sailor Moon S, but before Super   
S or Stars, meaning Hotaru is still a baby. As for Chibi-Usa, I'm   
debating on letting her in. This is, after all, a pretty serious   
storyline.  
  
Q3. Shouldn't they be afraid of Souichiro stumbling in on them?  
A3. Doctor Tomoe is bed-ridden, as he's still recovering from the   
injuries he sustained in the final events of the S series.  
  
Q4. What about the Ayakashi Sisters? Will they be added in this   
story?  
A4. They're powerless. Their energy base was purely reliant on   
the Zachzuishou or Dark Crystal and the Wise Man, both of which are   
gone.  
  
Q5. Didn't Sailor Moon reverse time at the end of the first   
season? How come Ian remembers events from then?  
A5. Okay, we're going to get into my idea of what actually   
happened. Sailor Moon didn't really reverse time. What she did was   
resurrect her friends (and Mamoru), then removed their memories of   
being Senshi (which included them being friends, because the   
Guinzuishou is as subtle as a brick).  
After all, Luna and Artemis still remembered what happened (being   
the emergency reactivation, they couldn't afford to lose their memories   
again). AND if she HAD reversed time, there's a chance things might   
have turned out differently.  
As for the media and such, they probably lost interest (as they   
usually do) when there wasn't a steady supply of monster-senshi   
activities going on, thus why most of the Sailor Moon crew had been   
forgotten until their reappearance in the R series.  
  
Q6. How would Ian find out about the process for making Daimons?  
A6. Mistress 9 was fairly weak. I doubt she would have noticed   
or cared if someone was watching her. As for the Witches 5, I doubt   
they had any respect for each other, so someone scrying on them would   
simply make them think it was one of the other witches.  
  
Q7. Why Tokyo, dammit?!  
A7. There are numerous answers for why it is always Tokyo being   
attacked.  
A7.1) There is a series of leylines running through Tokyo,  
making it a very valuable target for magic-draining  
creatures.  
  
A7.2) There have been numerous bizzare activities in the  
Tokyo area, making any further bizzare activities (i.e.  
those caused by the villian of the week) less noticeable.  
  
A7.3) The Sailor Senshi are the first and last line of  
serious defense against magic-wielding monsters from outer  
space. Thus, once they've been dealt with, one can get on  
with one's mission. If one CAN'T beat them, then one  
didn't really need any of those plans for settling in.  
  
A7.4) The Nexus Points (Sailor Moon & company) draw in  
other minor nexus points, (i.e. victim of the week) and  
thus, all of one's targets are in one area. Makes finding  
one's targets a bit easier than usual in a metropolis as  
large as Tokyo.  
  
A7.5) They grab one of their hapless minions, spin them  
around until they're good and dizzy, then have them point  
at a map. Somehow, Tokyo, Japan is always selected.  
  
A7.6) Japan has more people per square foot than most  
others, with large transient populations, and plenty of  
wound-up people filled with energy. Energy draining and  
random attacks would go almost unnoticed in the real world,  
save for a larger than normal increase in the purchase of  
energy drinks and people being admitted to asylums.  
  
A7.7) Well, it would be very unfair to conquer the world  
starting with the big boys, now wouldn't it?  
  
Q8. So, what's happened to the DK stuff?  
A8. Well, to put it in simple terms, it goes like this: Goblins   
are deadmeat, Youma replace Trolls and Black Knights, Droidos will   
replace Salamanders and Rogues, Daimons replace Dark Angels and Bile   
Demons. I haven't decided on whether to replace Dark Elves or   
Fireflies. 


	3. Sailor Moon Versus Dungeon Keeper 3

It may seem bizarre. It sounded preposterous. It was absolutely   
positively-  
Possible.  
Chemistry is capable of massively bizarre results. Modern   
chemistry has already found a manner with which to create instant ice   
in any temperature water using just two chemicals.  
Alchemy is a much older version of chemistry and more mystical in   
nature. Put in more vicious terms, it was basically something where   
one learned things by accident.  
Of course, chemistry can be considered to be very much the same   
as alchemy, only it relies less on time of day, planetary positions or   
alignments, and star patterns.  
In actuality, chemistry was the dumb man's alchemy.  
Alchemy was much bigger as it is capable of so much more.  
For instance, while chemistry would take months, maybe years or   
decades to create a living being, alchemy could shortcut that into an   
hour. Maybe less.  
Admittedly, the concept of making a monster from a potion may   
seem completely preposterous.  
Then again, the world has been saved by a girl who's skirtline   
does more to show her panties than hide them.  
Considering the ludicrous nature of both ideas, I'd have to buy   
the monster in a potion theory first.  
  
- Anonymous 20th Century Wizard  
  
====================================================  
Sailor Moon Versus Dungeon Keeper  
Chapter 3 - Spores From The 34th And A Half CENTURY!  
====================================================  
  
Ian had a number of good friends who didn't mind getting in on   
the world domination racket. However, two of his friends, he   
considered ready to actually join his ranks.  
He'd provided them with a fully stocked laboratory with both sets   
of creation instructions he'd stolen from Doctor Tomoe's laboratory.  
David was the chemist. He'd be making the actual concotions.  
Mathew, on the other hand, was the idea man and the right one to   
pick when choosing someone suitable for the job of deciding what to   
make. He'd be the one actually testing the creations that David made.   
He'd also be doing all of the computer work to see if the Droido   
crystals Ian had rescued were salvageable in some way.  
It hadn't taken much to get them to work for him. They wanted   
pretty much what Ian's youma wanted. Food, a bed, some cash, some   
power, and if they were feeling randy, a little bit of nookie.  
Once he started actually conquering Japan and the world, they'd   
be able to get all the free nookie they wanted.  
  
Setsuna was _not_ amused, "In hindsight, I should have expected   
this."  
"Yes, it's not as if they've ever been team players before."   
Makoto commented.  
The group had searched for clues, but save for some faint heat   
signatures that only indicated that Sailor Neptune, Sailor Uranus and   
one other creature had been in the room. Of course, the shattered   
bones of fifteen skeletons also said that the keeper had indeed been   
collecting the undead.  
"We're in luck if he's only got skeletons on his side. However,   
something tells me that it's not that simple." Setsuna declared.  
"That's right." came a familiar voice.  
Everyone turned to see a pink-haired Usagi standing the doorway.   
It took everyone a minute to register the fact that Usagi didn't have   
pink hair, and was already present as Sailor Moon. Plus, Usagi didn't   
wear a blue jean jacket, blue jeans and a white t-shirt that had an   
arrow pointing upwards over the line, "My eyes are up HERE, jerkoff!".   
And Usagi didn't have a tendency to chew on a candy cigarette.  
"Chibi-usa?!" Usagi asked, looking at her daughter, who _had_ to   
be about the same age as her.  
Chibi-usa nodded, "Seems something nasty was going to happen if I   
didn't show up. So, I figured, 'eh, might as well'."  
"Why are you... so much older than last time?" Rei asked.  
"You needed firepower, not comedic relief. Besides, mom figures   
34th century living is bad for me. 'Corrupting my morals'," Chibi-usa   
responded, rolling her eyes, before muttering under her breath, "Geez,   
me and Hotaru go to one Lesbian Goth Rave and mom has a cow."  
"So, uh, can you tell us where the Keeper is?" Minako inquired,   
trying very hard not to laugh at the image of Chibi-usa wearing goth   
makeup while retaining her bright pink hair.  
"Nope. 'Sides, even if I did remember, I couldn't tell ya. Not   
how things were supposed to go and all that bullcrap. 'Course, I'll   
have to stay at Makoto's. It'll be too suspicious if I try and worm my   
way into the Tsukino household and Setsuna's getting a bad enough   
reputation as a woman of loose morals." Chibi-usa responded.  
"WHAT?!" Setsuna demanded.  
Chibi-usa chortled, "Just kidding."  
Then, Chibi-usa's face took a more serious tone, "Seriously,   
though, this Keeper is NOT to be underestimated. All I can tell you   
about the enemy is that he's not using those pathetic goblins anymore.   
He's using more magical creatures."  
The group exchanged silent looks. If looked like another major   
battle was brewing.  
  
Mathew had made an interesting discovery about the Droido gems.   
The gems were not unsalvageable, as was believed by both Sailor Moon   
and the Dark Moon family. In fact, the gems were made to interface   
with a USB cable, indicated by a proper slot at the very back of the   
gem.  
Ian looked over Mathew's shoulder as the computer genius typed   
away at a frantic speed, "You called me down here, so what's up?"  
Mathew turned to looked Ian in the eye, "These things weren't   
made for combat."  
"Huh?" Ian inquired.  
"From what I've gathered from their databases, these 'droidos'   
were originally created to take over the menial labour. However, since   
they wanted these droidos to be able to function in numerous fields,   
they made a number of preset patterns that would allow them to self-  
modify in order to work in various fields that were deemed too   
frivilous, dangerous or wasteful." Mathew responded.  
Mathew pointed to some of the programming which was very similar   
to C++, but had garbled letters and screwed up symbols that were of no   
language that Ian knew of, "Someone or someTHING hacked their databases   
and added various violent tendencies, but also added a bunch of shit   
data that wound up making them about 25% effective. That means that if   
we were to go through each database and remove the crap data, these   
things would be about 200% better than they were when Sailor Moon faced   
them. Not only that, but faster, stronger and able to formulate   
strategies."  
"You're serious?" Ian asked.  
"Well, the increase is speculation from the amount of horseshit   
someone dumped into here. Just about every three lines of code has   
this ugly ass shit." Mathew replied, causing Ian to silently wish   
Mathew didn't swear so often. Mathew was a genius in computers, but he   
tended to regress in a speech pattern that he referred to as   
"Hardcore". Ian referred to it as "Dumbass".  
"So, once you get rid of this coding, you can get them to work?"   
Ian asked.  
"They'll need some power to create their own bodies, but yeah.   
It's as simple as rebooting them." Mathew answered, adjusting his   
glasses.  
"But, don't you need to-" Ian began.  
"Nope. The crap that was added was all RAM. Everything else is   
ROM. Rebooting them will wipe out the RAM as well as undo the system   
fault that Sailor Moon's Halation attack caused." Mathew responded,   
flicking some messy black hair out of his face and making Ian wonder if   
he'd taken a bath or shower lately.  
"There are mana vaults in the corner." Ian told Mathew, "Just be   
sure to make a few into something that'll be good at torturing. We   
need to convert Sailor Uranus and Neptune to our side."  
"Hmm, no can do. They can fight, but they've got set blocks   
against deliberately causing terror or despair. Well, there are   
disablers to the blocks in the cursed programming, but we can't save   
that." Mathew responded.  
"Then it's likely these things were actually a marketed item from   
wherever the Dark Moon family came from." Ian commented.  
Mathew nodded.  
"I guess we'll have to wait for David to finish making some   
Daimons. Crap, and I was hoping to get them converted today." Ian   
sighed.  
"Say, I've been reviewing that timeline you gave me and I've   
noticed that you haven't gone back to pick up any of those Cardian   
things that those two... uh, Ail and Ann, used." Mathew noted.  
"Actually, I've got them already and recaliberated 'em so I cold   
use them, but the problem is the activation. These things are kinda   
like those Magic the Gathering cards. Unless you know the proper   
activation sequence, they'll only appear for about ten minutes, then   
revert. I'm looking into changing the ones I've got. A lot of them   
aren't actually that bright or powerful, even if I were to activate   
them." Ian responded  
"You think you can?" Mathew inquired.  
"Well, yeah. The magic involved is largely enchantment." Ian   
explained, "Anyway, I'm going to go see how David's project is going."  
  
Setsuna turned to the other Senshi, "It's risky, but we can try   
an extraction."  
"An extraction?" Sailor Moon inquired.  
"We'll need Mercury to locate Uranus and Neptune via the Mercury   
computer. Then, we do a Sailor Teleport with Mercury doing the   
visualization. Once there, we free Neptune and Uranus, then Sailor   
Teleport the hell out of there." Setsuna declared.  
"That's a bit more than dangerous, Pluto, we could all get   
captured if the keeper is expecting it." Chibi-Usa commented.  
"That's just it, I don't think he is." Setsuna responded.  
"You're the boss." Chibi-Usa answered.  
With a flare of pink energy, Chibi-Usa changed into Sailor Chibi-  
Moon, the outfit having changed in proportion to become a close replica   
of Sailor Moon's.  
"Let's do this tang." Minako agreed in English.  
Mercury decided not to correct Minako.   
  
Sailor Uranus was frustrated at two things. First, her own   
foolish pride that had proven itself more hazardous than useful this   
time around; second, her wheel, which looked like slightly rotted oak,   
but it was a foot thick, magically enchanted and wall mounted, so she   
felt her blood rush to her brain every other minute; and thirdly, the   
children who were running around gleefully IN THE TORTURE ROOM, playing   
a game of tag with only a single adult youma (that could've easily fit   
into the more sexually arousing descriptions of the succubus) watching.  
Okay, three things.  
"Hey, watch out!" Sailor Uranus called out, just before one of   
the young girl youma tripped and scraped her knee on another wheel.  
The succubus-like youma sighed as she walked over to check on the   
crying girl. She examined the injury, healed it, then 'beep'ed the   
crying girl's nose, "Be more careful, okay?"  
The girl sniffled and nodded. Sailor Uranus sighed with relief,   
then wondered WHY she had sighed with relief. It wasn't like they were   
normal children. But from that display, what was the difference? The   
appearance was about it. The children youma had little to no powers   
yet.  
Maybe, just maybe the keeper wasn't that bad a person.  
Sailor Uranus bit her tongue hard to snap herself out of that   
train of thought. Even if they weren't entirely a bad person, they   
were still trying to conquer the world at the very least and that   
designated them a villian.  
Sailor Neptune was mounted on the wall next to her, but her head   
was currently in the pool of water mounted around the bottom of her   
wheel. It was a good thing that Michiru had a strong set of lungs as   
her wheel spun a bit slower when her head entered the water, apparently   
testing her lung capacity and strength.  
Sailor Uranus wondered if they would get out of the torture   
chamber before they were 'converted', as that Keeper desired. At least   
Neptune's head was rising out of the water, so they would be able to   
keep each other talking.  
Just then, Sailor Uranus noticed someone new in the room. They   
wore a heavy brown robe that concealed all but the tip of their nose.   
The new person walked over to Sailor Uranus and seemed to examine her   
and Sailor Neptune.  
"Hmmm, I'd heard there were other senshi, but I didn't believe it   
until now. I guess it's amazing what you can forget over ten thousand   
years..." a female voice spoke from within the robes.  
"Ten thousand years?" Sailor Uranus demanded, "Are you the   
keeper?"  
The woman said nothing, but turned and almost exited the room   
just as a flash of magic filled the room, followed quickly by the   
familiar voice of Sailor Moon, "Uranus, Neptune!"  
The youma children cried out in terror and fled to the far corner   
while the succubus leapt in front of them protectively. Sailor Pluto,   
Mars, Mercury and Moon hurried to try and free Uranus and Neptune.  
"Okay, this is awkward." Sailor Jupiter noted, unused to such a   
fearful reaction from children, even if they were youma children.  
"Nevermind that, how do we get them free?" Sailor Venus asked,   
concentrating on trying to pull Uranus off the rack and failing,   
despite the fact that there didn't seem to be even string holding her   
down.  
Sailor Chibi-Moon shook her head, "Don't bother trying to free   
them like that, the magic in this room will prevent them from being   
removed until they're converted, removed by the keeper or dead.   
Everyone, try to channel some of your energy into the floor. If we can   
disrupt the room, we can free them a lot faster."  
"Oh no, you don't!" the robed woman snarled, unleashing a bolt of   
lightning that struck Chibi-Moon, sending the future Senshi to the   
floor.  
"Mars, Mercury, do as Chibi-Moon said. Jupiter, Pluto, Venus,   
let's take her down!" Sailor Moon commanded.  
No sooner had Sailor Moon made that declaration, than fourteen   
skeletons appeared behind the robed woman. The robed woman backed out   
of the room and fled, allowing the skeletons to charge forward,   
swinging their swords and releasing bone-chilling shrieks. The Senshi   
didn't even notice the sudden disappearance of the youma children or   
their guardian. Sailor Mars and Mercury began their best to do as   
Chibi-Moon had suggested.  
Sailor Jupiter launched forward, punching at the leader, who   
raised his shield and blocked the strike, but fractures formed on his   
arm regardless. He retaliated by slashing at Jupiter, who leapt back   
and summoned her magical energy, "THUNDER DRAGON!"  
A torrent of lightning surged forward, creating the image of a   
dragon as it swallowed six skeletons and slammed them into the roof of   
the dungeon. The skeletons collapsed to the floor, heavily damaged,   
but not destroyed.  
Sailor Pluto struck another skeleton with her staff at the   
skeleton's chest with enough force that the strike should have powdered   
it's entire ribcage. Instead, the skeleton staggered back, then   
slashed at her. She blocked, disarmed the skeleton, then swept it's   
feet out from underneath it and crushed it's skull beneath her boot.   
Then, the skeleton's arms wrapped around her thigh. Pluto growled in   
frustration.  
Sailor Venus managed to use a bare-handed sword block to stop one   
skeleton's sword, before yanking the weapon out of the skeleton's hands   
and beheading it. She felt confident that she'd won before the   
skeleton's headless body grabbed her and began kneeing her in the   
stomach with surpising force.  
"Moon Princess Halation!" Sailor Moon cried, unleashing a beam of   
magic that engulfed all of the remaining skeletons, destroying half of   
them instantly and knocking the rest onto their backs.  
Mars and Mercury blinked as they dropped an inch. They both   
looked at the ground beneath their feet and noticed that it had gone   
from reinforced stone to dirt, the nearby wall was similarly un-  
reinforced and the room's restraints had shifted. Then, they heard the   
sound of two people hitting the ground headfirst. They winced as they   
looked at Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus, who were clutching their   
heads and groaning in pain.  
Suddenly, all of the remaining skeletons were pulled upwards two   
inches from the ground and disappeared from the room.  
"SHIT! Everyone! We've got to get out of here NOW!" Chibi-Usa   
declared, regaining her feet.  
No sooner has the group formed a circle for a Sailor Teleport,   
explosions began filling the room. Ten seconds later, the Senshi were   
gone.  
"GODDAMMIT!" Ian cursed as he saw them vanish on his map.  
"I'm sorry. I should have stayed to fight." the robed woman   
apologized.  
Ian sighed, "No, it wouldn't matter. We're not ready for a full   
confrontation with the Senshi. Besides, your identity might give them   
the clues they need to begin training to a higher power level. As it   
is, we'll just have to be content that they'll be out of our hair for a   
while. Even if they did escape, they were in the Explosion spell's   
range for more than a few seconds. We have a little more time now."  
"Then, might I interest you in another potential resource of   
personnel?" the robed woman inquired.  
"I'm always listening." Ian replied.  
  
Ian's words were true. The senshi had escaped, but hardly   
unscathed. In fact, were it not for Sailor Moon and Sailor Chibi-Moon   
being able to heal them all, they would have needed to visit the   
hospital for treatment for first and second degree burns with a few   
being close to third degree. As it was, they were going to get a lot   
of comments about how they'd spontaneously gotten rather deep tans.  
"Thank you all." Sailor Neptune declared.  
"I'm sorry that we charged in. From now on, we'll listen to   
instructions." Sailor Uranus apologized.  
"Well, at least we know what his undead are like." Sailor Pluto   
commented.  
"And we know that he can restrain our powers if we ever get   
caught." Sailor Chibi-Moon joined in.  
"_And_ we know that he has children in his dungeon." Sailor   
Jupiter commented.  
"'He'? So if that robed woman wasn't the Keeper..." Sailor   
Uranus began, before trailing off.  
"Why, what did she say?" Sailor Moon inquired.  
"Well, she said that she'd forgotten about the Outer Senshi, then   
commented that 'it was amazing what one can forget in ten thousand   
years'." Sailor Uranus explained.  
"Ten thousnd years? That would mean she was alive back in the   
Silver Millenium." Sailor Pluto commented.  
"But no one survived from back then, except-" Sailor Mars began.  
"The Dark Kingdom!" The Inner Senshi and Pluto exclaimed in   
unison.  
"The Dark Kingdom?" Uranus and Neptune inquired.  
"It was before the Inners and Outers met. We battled the   
remaints of an evil kingdom hell-bent on destroying the Moon Kingdom,   
lead by Queen Beryl and the four Generals of Earth." Mercury explained.  
"So, the woman was Queen Beryl?" Sailor Uranus inquired.  
"Well.... it might have been her or one of her youma..." Mercury   
began.  
"No way, I killed Queen Beryl..... didn't I?" Moon asked, turning   
to Pluto.  
Pluto was considering something, "Your powers, and those of the   
Serenities, have always been largely purification and healing-based.   
The idea that you'd purified Beryl instead isn't entirely impossible.   
After all, she herself had been corrupted by Queen Metallia, who even I   
don't recall that well. But a magical manifestation, like the one you   
destroyed, could have been simply a shell."  
"So, it's at least a possibility." Chibi-Usa began,   
detransforming.  
"Yes, it is. But, if it is Beryl, she might remember who you all   
are and what your limits were back in the Silver Millenium. And you   
all aren't up to even half of your power from back then. If they're   
using that to project your limits... we're all in serious trouble."   
Setsuna warned, as the rest of the senshi transformed back into their   
civilian forms.  
"Wait, if we're not even half as powerful as we were back then,   
then you know what attacks and such we used back then. We could train   
up to the old limits and then try and go beyond them." Rei commented.  
"I'm afraid it's a problem of your power. Even if I were to show   
you what abilities you had before, until your magical limit and control   
of what powers you do have is equal or superior to that of the past   
Senshi, it's not going to do you much good to know new techniques."   
Setsuna explained.  
"So, it's time to do some serious training." Usagi declared,   
surpising Luna, who instantly began to dance as she heard that Usagi   
was finally learning to act like a proper queen.  
"UNfortunately, we'll have to wait for it. Summer break is   
coming up, which will give us all the time we need, but before that is   
_exams_." Ami declared, "And if you don't pass, then you'll likely be   
spending all summer studying rather than battling evil."  
Usagi wilted, realizing that while her grades had improved, she   
had a long way to go before she was ready for the exams.  
"As for the keeper, Pluto and I will do what we can to try and   
find an entrance to his dungeon. The sooner we find it, the better we   
can prepare." Chibi-usa declared, "And we'll also have to see what we   
can do about restoring Hotaru to her normal age."  
"What?!" Haruka asked, her mind-reeling in horror from the   
concept of reviving the Senshi of Destruction.  
"Face it, this keeper nearly did us all in from an attack that he   
can do continuously anywhere in his dungeon. We NEED Sailor Saturn's   
power in this fight if we're to beat him before he becomes too powerful   
for all of us combined." Chibi-Usa told her.  
"You think it might come to that?" Ami asked.  
Chibi-Usa frowned, "It's already come to that. His power expands   
exponentially. And, my mother told me that if we can't beat him by   
summer's end, he'll be unbeatable."  
"But, wait, wouldn't the fact that the future still exists imply   
that we'll win?" Minako asked.  
Setsuna and Chibi-Usa exchanged glances before Setsuna shrugged   
helplessly.  
Chibi-Usa sighed, "Apparently, none of you are familiar with   
Dracon's Law of Time-Travel. It is completely impossible for a person   
to go into the past of their own dimension as it would automatically   
rupture time and space for them to exit prior to their own existance.   
It IS possible, however, for a person to time-travel into the past of   
another dimension as they do not technically exist in that universe and   
thus have not made an impact on it."  
Ami's eyes widened. The other senshi exchanged confused glances.  
Chibi-usa saw the blank stares and simplified it, "In the   
layman's terms, I'm not THIS Usagi's daughter. I'm from another   
world's future where these events occurred very similar to how they   
occurred in my world, which is the REAL reason I can't tell you   
anything about the Keeper."  
"Then what was with that 'paradox' stuff?" Minako asked.  
Chibi-usa sighed, "I don't know how much has changed or how much   
applies and even if I could tell you, I shouldn't. It's never a good   
idea to get a swelled head about how things should go because then it   
might not happen."  
"But then, the Chibi-usa of our future..." Usagi began.  
"If we survive this, you could send her into the past of a   
different world to train her against real enemies, just like my mother   
did with me." Chibi-usa explained.  
"But if the world is different, couldn't you die?" Rei asked.  
"Yes. But that's the good thing about being from an alternate   
future: My mother can use her power to revive me. Unfortunately,   
there's some big 'time travel agreement' that the Sailor Plutos and   
Serenities have to agree to sign and honor in order to prevent multiple   
dead universes from occurring." Chibi-usa explained.  
"Dead universes?" Makoto asked.  
"How little you all know..." Chibi-usa sighed.  
Ami spoke up, "I've heard of the dead universe term. It occurs   
when a universe inadvertantly kills it's own future by mucking around   
too much in time or dimensional travel. It would allow Entropy into   
the violating universes."  
"And what's entropy?" Michiru inquired.  
Setsuna spoke up, "Entropy is what all life fears above all else.   
It is similar to the Silence that Sailor Saturn wields, only much more   
powerful and completely unstoppable. Entropy is like 'The End' at the   
end of a book, but instead for everything in our universe. Everything   
is drawn into the Void and dies, even time itself. And then..."  
"The Big Bang starts the universe all over again." Chibi-usa   
finished.  
"But, couldn't sending Chibi-usa into the past violate that?"   
Usagi asked.  
"No. You see, the Dead Universe syndrome would occur if we were   
all to jump into universe after universe and make sure that every   
single dimension was identical, right down to the trivial things, like   
Haruka sneezing at the exact same moment. What I'm doing is creating a   
nudge or shove in the right direction, but I'm not hopping into tens of   
thousands of universes and _forcing_ the exact same thing to occur over   
and over. I'm doing this ONCE and only ONCE." Chibi-usa explained,   
"Come August 15th, whether I'm alive or dead, my mother pulls me home,   
revives and purifies me if need be, and then that's it. Kaput.   
Finito. I'm done. I never time travel again, unless it's an emergency   
and even in that case, it's probably going to be my children rather   
than me doing the time traveling."  
  
=======================================================================  
  
Another clue has been dropped about Ian's companion, but what   
will she give him that will further bolster his forces.  
The Senshi of Saturn is back.  
Summer time training.  
Allies are made and revived.  
And where is that free nookie?  
  
And now, to answer your not-at-all-asked questions!  
Q) Why did you bring Chibi-Usa back as a Teenager?  
A) As I said in the last one, this is a serious storyline.  
  
Q) Is anyone going to wind up dead?  
A) I haven't a clue.  
  
Q) What do you mean, 'you haven't a clue'?  
A) No, I said 'I haven't a clue'.  
  
Q) @#%@#$%@#$!  
A) Fine, I mean I don't plan. Sometimes, I'll get a good idea   
going in my head and I'll right up to it, but otherwise, I fly by the   
seat of my pants. No, not like how Neville flew by the ears of his   
head in "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (go watch it, you   
cowering bastards!). 


End file.
